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Have you heard of this game before? I hadn't, at least not until Left Behind Games sent me a copy to review. Let me fill you in...
While shopping at my local Family Christian Bookstore I noticed a Charlie Church Mouse Bible Adventure game for kindergarten. (Think Reader Rabbit with a good Christian theme) I grabbed it thinking it would be a great game for Princess A who has recently taken an interest in the computer. I knew it would be advanced for her but I figured we could play it together. After playing a few times I looked up Left Behind Games and discovered that they also offer Preschool:Charlie Church Mouse
. So I emailed the company and explained what had happened. I offered to review the preschool edition in exchange for the program. They agreed and asked if I would be interested in reviewing other titles also. Of course I agreed. Fast forward a couple of weeks and here I am telling you about Keys of the Kingdom. This at first appears to be a very simplistic game. The object, move the key box and the lock box until they meet. As you progress it gets more and more difficult. Boxes are placed in your path that you must eliminate by touching it with another block of the same color. Sometimes you must move the boxes to create a path that you can manuever. Sometimes cantilevers are involved. What at the beginning seemed overly simple became a task that required planning and forethought.
After you successfully complete this task you are taken to a scroll screen where a Bible verse is printed and is read to you. Then you move on to the next level.
Another plus is that on each Bible verse page there is a link that says "know God". When you click this link you are taken to a page (http://www.dontbeleftbehind.com/pages/knowing-god.html) that lists the Four Spiritual Laws from Campus Crusades for Christ. Basically, God loves you, sin separates you from Him, Christ died so that we can connect with God, and we must choose to receive this gift. While the explanation may be a bit advanced for younger children, it can open doors for mom and dad to talk to them about God and His Son.
I began playing one afternoon with H. Several hours later the entire family was taking turns on levels and offering advice as they got more difficult. We are now on level 80+ after several days of play and are still enjoying playing it. The creators were even kind enough to include a link for each level that takes you to a solution page. (Yes, we have had to use the link on occassion and I promise we are intelligent people!)
This game is rated E for everyone and I have to say that everyone in my family enjoys it, even Princess A. Despite the fact that we are at levels to advanced for her to be any help, she still has to chime in when someone moans as they realize they have made an irreversable move and must start over and she rejoices as we complete an especially difficult level.
And the winner is.........Lissa who said "This sounds like a wonderful game for my daughter!"
Until next time,
